Rating: 
Summary: A treat for Bat Fans
Review: After reading Cold as Ice I was disappointed by this book. Dark as Day is longer and had more characters, which is not necessarily a good thing. Most of the characters are not fully developed or introduced and then dropped along the way. The parallel storylines do converge at the end, but it is incomplete and sloppy. The glue that holds the book together is the Great Bat. In all my literary tours of the universe I have never encountered a character like him. He prefers to be totally alone to think and study and solve puzzles. He does not wash, he does not dress, he does not travel; he eats and he thinks. Facinating. It is The Bat who finds the clues in the historic documents and puts everything together. Therefore, it is not until you get to the chapters featuring The Bat that the story gets exciting. Science fiction is supposed to pose some interesting concepts for better living through technology and this book is no exception. There are people with enhanced bodies who stay forever young and healthly, but cannot reproduce. There is the predictive model that indicates all life in the Solar System will cease to exist unless the modifying variable is identified and controlled. There is the alien transmission that no one is able to decode that could be the variable. Each of these would make an exciting story, but they are not fully developed or explored. The story is ultimately about The Bat, his interaction with three computer systems, and his brilliant ability to think through complex problems that others cannot. If you are a fan of The Bat from other Sheffield novels, this is the book for you and I would rate it 4 stars. If The Bat does not do it for you, this is a pleasant read, but nothing to get excited about. No violence, some sexual descriptions, romance, some profanity.
Rating:
Summary: A treat for Bat Fans
Review: After reading Cold as Ice I was disappointed by this book. Dark as Day is longer and had more characters, which is not necessarily a good thing. Most of the characters are not fully developed or introduced and then dropped along the way. The parallel storylines do converge at the end, but it is incomplete and sloppy. The glue that holds the book together is the Great Bat. In all my literary tours of the universe I have never encountered a character like him. He prefers to be totally alone to think and study and solve puzzles. He does not wash, he does not dress, he does not travel; he eats and he thinks. Facinating. It is The Bat who finds the clues in the historic documents and puts everything together. Therefore, it is not until you get to the chapters featuring The Bat that the story gets exciting. Science fiction is supposed to pose some interesting concepts for better living through technology and this book is no exception. There are people with enhanced bodies who stay forever young and healthly, but cannot reproduce. There is the predictive model that indicates all life in the Solar System will cease to exist unless the modifying variable is identified and controlled. There is the alien transmission that no one is able to decode that could be the variable. Each of these would make an exciting story, but they are not fully developed or explored. The story is ultimately about The Bat, his interaction with three computer systems, and his brilliant ability to think through complex problems that others cannot. If you are a fan of The Bat from other Sheffield novels, this is the book for you and I would rate it 4 stars. If The Bat does not do it for you, this is a pleasant read, but nothing to get excited about. No violence, some sexual descriptions, romance, some profanity.
Rating: 
Summary: Great suspense story in a hard SF atmosphere
Review: All too often a good book (Cold as Ice)is followed by a disappointing sequel. Fortunately, The Ganymede Club, Sheffield's second book in the Cold as Ice universe, was as good as the first, and Sheffield's third book in this future series only gets better. Readers who have enjoyed the other two books will thoroughly enjoy the further adventures of the unforgettable Rustum Battachariya, while readers new to the series will find the plot and characters can stand alone without having the context of the previous works. Dark as Day is hard science fiction that also works well for the SF fan who is more interested in a good suspense story. There is a complicated plot involving several strands, but Sheffield manages to tie up all the loose ends in a very satisfactory conclusion. The characters are interesting and have their own personal relationships to resolve in addition to the fate of humanity!
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book! It's the best of the hard SF
Review: But don't read it until you've also gotten Cold as Ice, and read it. The two are among the very best hard SF books anyone has written. As a bonus, they both also have a mystery for the main characters to solve. I already miss Charles Sheffield, just because the prospects of more novels featuring the unique "Bat" are remote. Sheffield wrote the very hardest SF (as appropriate for a Ph.D. in physics), but he usually managed to tell a good story as well - something that most of the other physicists who have written SF haven't managed to do. I wish he could have lived and written for another 20 years. I wish to defend the instantaneous communication system a previous reviewer has maligned. Sheffield quite explicitly states that it works because of quantum entanglement, a perfectly respectable theory which was discussed in Scientific American's special edition last year on cosmology and cosmogony. If you want to find some good reading, and are willing to accept his (very) rare failures, pick up some of his older novels, many of which were published in Analog before coming into the bookstores.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book! It's the best of the hard SF
Review: But don't read it until you've also gotten Cold as Ice, and read it. The two are among the very best hard SF books anyone has written. As a bonus, they both also have a mystery for the main characters to solve. I already miss Charles Sheffield, just because the prospects of more novels featuring the unique "Bat" are remote. Sheffield wrote the very hardest SF (as appropriate for a Ph.D. in physics), but he usually managed to tell a good story as well - something that most of the other physicists who have written SF haven't managed to do. I wish he could have lived and written for another 20 years. I wish to defend the instantaneous communication system a previous reviewer has maligned. Sheffield quite explicitly states that it works because of quantum entanglement, a perfectly respectable theory which was discussed in Scientific American's special edition last year on cosmology and cosmogony. If you want to find some good reading, and are willing to accept his (very) rare failures, pick up some of his older novels, many of which were published in Analog before coming into the bookstores.
Rating:
Summary: i love you uncle
Review: I think his book Dark as day is amazing. Chareles was my uncle. If you did or did not know this he passed away November 2,2002 of a brain tumer. He was a talented writer and his books are very interesting but im just 13 so go ahead and read.
Rating: 
Summary: On of the Year's Finest SF Novels
Review: In one of his last novels, Charles Sheffield has written one of his best. _Dark as Day_, the sequel to the entertaining _Cold as Ice_ stars everyone's favorite recluse, grossly overweight puzzle master, The Great Bat, in another life or death race across the solar system. Sheffield weaves together three or four simulatneous plotlines to present a cohesive and thrilling story of the potential end of the universe. Bat, avid Great War history buff, discovers that an evil scientist created an apocalyptic 'sleeper' virus that may be activated soon. This plotline coupled with a possible first contact with aliens creates a compelling novel that should be included among the year's top SF novels. Also, from a purely asthetic viewpoint, the packaging for _Dark as Day_ is among the finest I've seen recently. From the superb Vincent Di Fate cover to the attractive designs and fonts throughout the novel, this book is a treat to read. It's said not to judge a book by its cover but in this case you won't go wrong. Summary: Entertaining and vey well-written story. Believable and compelling characters. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: On of the Year's Finest SF Novels
Review: In one of his last novels, Charles Sheffield has written one of his best. _Dark as Day_, the sequel to the entertaining _Cold as Ice_ stars everyone's favorite recluse, grossly overweight puzzle master, The Great Bat, in another life or death race across the solar system. Sheffield weaves together three or four simulatneous plotlines to present a cohesive and thrilling story of the potential end of the universe. Bat, avid Great War history buff, discovers that an evil scientist created an apocalyptic 'sleeper' virus that may be activated soon. This plotline coupled with a possible first contact with aliens creates a compelling novel that should be included among the year's top SF novels. Also, from a purely asthetic viewpoint, the packaging for _Dark as Day_ is among the finest I've seen recently. From the superb Vincent Di Fate cover to the attractive designs and fonts throughout the novel, this book is a treat to read. It's said not to judge a book by its cover but in this case you won't go wrong. Summary: Entertaining and vey well-written story. Believable and compelling characters. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Solid science, writing, characters
Review: The sequel to Cold as Ice, Sheffield brings back one who is becoming one of the great characters of science fiction, Rustum "Bat" Battachariya, along with a whole host of new characters. (He likely drew Bat's Puzzle Network handle, "Megachirops," from "chiropter", a noun meaning any mammal of the order Chiroptera, comprising the bats. Weighing in at 300 kilos or thereabouts, he definitely is "mega.") Two of the new characters, Janeed Jannex, an orphan who has looked after her self-adopted "brother" (also an orphan) for almost her entire life, and Paul Marr, First Mate on the Outer System Line (OSL) Achilles, come together in a manner distinctly reminiscent of Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and First Mate Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot) of the original, 1933 version of the movie King Kong.
While not without blemishes (such as putting the action a mere 95 years from now, much too soon for the technology and colonization described in the book to take place -- why, oh why, do sci fi authors insist on doing this?), the book is nonetheless brilliant in scope and effectively weaves together several plots lines and even a couple of subplots. The gist of the story is how events slowly, but inexorably bring together a handful of people (well, maybe a couple of handfuls) from disparate walks of life and different corners of the Solar System to confront a danger from the past that threatens all life in the Solar System, human and otherwise. Along the way Sheffield plays out storylines that held my interest completely, never wanting to put the book down. Heck, anyone who can weave in the use of statistical mechanics as part of analytical prediction theory and keep my interest in the process...well, Sheffield is a master storyteller! He even throws in some "SETI Cryptanalysis 101" for good measure. He is fast carving out his place in the Sci Fi Hall of Fame. A resounding 5 stars, along with a wish that a third sequel, to include the Bat, is in the offing. (And with the Seine, a Solar System-wide computer super network being introduced here, there definitely is hope for a sequel!)
Rating:
Summary: Farfetched, but Immensely Entertaining
Review: The sequel to Cold as Ice, Sheffield brings back one who is becoming one of the great characters of science fiction, Rustum "Bat" Battachariya, along with a whole host of new characters. (He likely drew Bat's Puzzle Network handle, "Megachirops," from "chiropter", a noun meaning any mammal of the order Chiroptera, comprising the bats. Weighing in at 300 kilos or thereabouts, he definitely is "mega.") Two of the new characters, Janeed Jannex, an orphan who has looked after her self-adopted "brother" (also an orphan) for almost her entire life, and Paul Marr, First Mate on the Outer System Line (OSL) Achilles, come together in a manner distinctly reminiscent of Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and First Mate Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot) of the original, 1933 version of the movie King Kong.
While not without blemishes (such as putting the action a mere 95 years from now, much too soon for the technology and colonization described in the book to take place -- why, oh why, do sci fi authors insist on doing this?), the book is nonetheless brilliant in scope and effectively weaves together several plots lines and even a couple of subplots. The gist of the story is how events slowly, but inexorably bring together a handful of people (well, maybe a couple of handfuls) from disparate walks of life and different corners of the Solar System to confront a danger from the past that threatens all life in the Solar System, human and otherwise. Along the way Sheffield plays out storylines that held my interest completely, never wanting to put the book down. Heck, anyone who can weave in the use of statistical mechanics as part of analytical prediction theory and keep my interest in the process...well, Sheffield is a master storyteller! He even throws in some "SETI Cryptanalysis 101" for good measure. He is fast carving out his place in the Sci Fi Hall of Fame. A resounding 5 stars, along with a wish that a third sequel, to include the Bat, is in the offing. (And with the Seine, a Solar System-wide computer super network being introduced here, there definitely is hope for a sequel!)
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